Awards for Montana The Magazine of Western History

Wrangler Award Winners

The National Cowboy Museum and Heritage Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, holds an annual awards ceremony and gala each spring. One of their awards honors the best nonfiction magazine article on any western history topic. Montana has won seven Wranglers since 1991.

2010 John H. Monnett, “ ‘My heart now has become changed to softer feelings’: A Northern Cheyenne Woman and Her Family Remember the Long Journey Home” (Summer 2009)

2009 Dan Flores, “Bringing Home all the Pretty Horses: The Horse Trade and the Early American West, 1775–1825” (Summer 2008)

1991 Jerry Keenan, “Yellowstone Kelly: From New York to Paradise” (Summer 1990)

Spur Award Winners and Finalists

The Spur Awards, given annually by the Western Writers of America for distinguished writing about the American West, are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. Montana The Magazine of Western History has been recognized as either an award winner or finalist for Best Western Short Nonfiction ten times since 1990.

Other Awards

Inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame
2014 Montana The Magazine of Western History

Arrington-Prucha Prize from the Western History Association
2012 Becky Mathews, “Changing Lives: Baptist Women, Benevolence, and Community on the Crow Reservation, 1904–1980” (Summer 2011).

Mountain-Plains Museums Association, Publication Design Competition, First place award, $250,000+ budget category
2010 Montana The Magazine of Western History

Westerners International Coke Wood Award for Best Article
2009 John H. Monnett, “ ‘My heart now has become changed to softer feelings: A Northern Cheyenne Woman and Her Family Remember the Long Journey Home” (Summer 2009)

Western History Association Ray Allen Billington Award
2009 Dan Flores, “Bringing Home all the Pretty Horses: The Horse Trade and the Early American West, 1775–1825” (Summer 2008)

Wild West History Association Award, Best Article published in a Western magazine
2009 Tiffany Clay, “A Call to Order: Law, Violence, and the Development of Montana’s Early Stockmen’s Organizations” (Fall 2008)

Wyoming State Historical Society Award, For the promotion and preservation of Wyoming history in the field of publications, magazines, and newspapers.
2009 Michael A. Amundson, “These Men Play Real Polo: An Elite Sport in the Cowboy State, 1890–1930” (Spring 2009)

Western History Association Michael P. Malone Award for State History
2002 Frederick Allen, “Montana Vigilantes and the Origins of 3-7-77” (Spring 2001)

Western History Association Arrell M. Gibson Award, Best Essay on Native American History
1998 Elliott West, “Called Out People: The Cheyennes and the Central Plains” (Summer 1998)

Vivian Paladin Award Winners

Every magazine likes to win prizes, but we confess our delight in giving them too: each year the editorial board of Montana The Magazine of Western History selects the best article published during the previous year as the winner of the Vivian A. Paladin Award. The Montana Historical Society Board of Trustees created the award in 1978 to honor the career achievements and high editorial standards of legendary editor Vivian A. Paladin who served the magazine for twenty years (1958–1978). We present the award at the annual Montana History Conference. Here is the list of authors who have won this award.

2009 Clyde Ellis, “ ‘More Real than the Indians Themselves’: The Early Years of the Indian Lore Movement in the United States” (Autumn 2008)

2008 (Two articles tie) Megan Benson, “The Fight for Crow Water, Part 1” and “The Early Reservation Years Through the Indian New Deal, Part 2”(Winter 2007 and Spring 2008) and Dan Flores, “Bringing Home All the Pretty Horses: The Horse Trade and the Early American West, 1775–1825” (Summer 2008)

Friends’ Choice Award Winners

Each year the Friends of the Montana Historical Society, the organization of MHS volunteers, vote for their favorite article in Montana The Magazine of Western History. Established in 2004, this award represents the opinion of a diverse group who have a strong interest in Montana and western history. The following is a list of award recipients thus far.